Spotify

On Wednesday morning at 8:45AM ET, the Spotify Status account on X acknowledged that “We’re aware of some issues right now and are checking them out!” A check around The Verge’s Slack channel and the wider internet reveals many users in the UK and across other European countries are having issues streaming anything on Spotify, with a significant spike on Downdetector in the UK.

A rumor on social media has suggested that once Spotify’s long-awaited Music Pro / Hi-Fi / Supremium tier arrives, the music streamer might pull an Amazon Prime Video and push paying subscribers to choose between living with ads at their existing price or pay more for the old, ad-free experience.

The company has opened submissions for short-form content “written specifically for audio.” If Spotify chooses to move forward with a submission, it will make an offer and then publish the audiobook. Spotify will also pay an advance and royalties (but doesn’t note any specifics).

Similar to YouTube, Spotify will give bronze, silver, and gold plaques to podcasters when they reach 100 million, 250 million, and 500 million streams, respectively.

Starting today, Spotify is paying creators in the US, UK, Australia, and Canada based on how much engagement their videos receive from paid subscribers, similar to platforms like YouTube.

The music streaming service responded to Drake’s accusations that it used bots and payola to “artificially inflate” Lamar’s streaming numbers, saying Spotify “invests heavily in automated and manual reviews to prevent, detect, and mitigate the impact of artificial streaming on our platform,” Billboard reports.

Have you ever wondered who makes the tunes for Spotify’s “ghost artists?” Real musicians, including a jazz artist interviewed by Liz Pelly, in an excerpt from her upcoming book, Mood Machine. I wonder how long that gig will last...

That’s growth of 12 percent year-over-year, according to the company’s third quarter earnings. Monthly active users are up, too, reaching 640 million.

Android Police writes that it took less than 24 hours for Google to fix the issue, partly thanks to a particularly concerted effort on the part of Google Home users. Also: today I learned there’s a dedicated Google smart home gadget feedback form.

A reader asked the Denver Post why it hadn’t covered a grisly and salacious 2014 murder in Littleton, CO. It hadn’t, because the crime never happened.